Soulfire
by desmond5tiny
Summary: Life was good for Brief and all the trouble was behind them...right? The peace they had achieved gets torn appart. Brief is losing strength and Stocking is discovering something unseen for thousands of years. Ghost are ting stronger and noone know why. Things are spinning out of control and it's up to them to stop it. Sequel to Heartcandy. BriefxStocking, PantyxOC, KneesocksxOC


**Authors Note:** I'm Back! It has taken a bit longer than I would have wanted bit alas life got in the way. Now this is the sequel to Heartcandy as you know. If you haven't read it you should because a there will be a lot in this story that ties to, or is a consequence of things that happened in the first. This story will have a bit more action and adventure than Heartcandy. Next to that the drama, mystery and suspense, in short all the good stuff, that was in Heartcandy will also be in this one.

I will again be adding some OC along the way. Most of those will be enemy's but there will also be... others.

A big thanks ZeroDragonFlame as a lot of inspiration for this sequel came from him.

Also a big thanks to Enderkiller77 for beta-ing this for me. no matter how hard I try I can never seem to get all the errors out myself.

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Soulfire

Chapter One

Brief sighed in content and sank down on the couch. Life has become good for him the last couple of months. Things had calmed down after the fight when Rowdy was released from Scanty's control. Panty and Stocking still fought with each other as any siblings often did, but it was a lot less…intense. It helped that one of the others were often there to calm things down when they would get out of hand. That was one of the other things that had changed. Before, Brief was more often at the church than at home and it was rare to find the others there. Now Rowdy, Lacey and, surprisingly, Kneesocks were there as much as Brief was. Rowdy and Lacey had found a place of their own not far from the church.

Not long after that, Kneesocks had moved into the church. Her father had found out she had betrayed them and Panty had protested at first but Rowdy and Lacey convinced her to give Kneesocks a chance. So far things were working.

Stocking and Panty came in the room. Stocking immediately ran to the couch and sat next to Brief, snuggling into his side. He looked at her and smiled at the happy smile on her face. He turned to Panty and smiled at her.

"What the fuck are you smiling at? Get a room already!" Panty said to him but Brief knew she didn't mean it. For years he went after Panty. After everything that happened he was over Panty but they were still friends. Better then friends in fact, then when he was trying to get her to notice him. 'It is probably because I don't let her walk all over me anymore' he mused.

"Where's Rowdy?" Brief asked even if he was pretty sure he knew were Rowdy was.

"He's still out back working on that fuckin' project he won't tell me about" replies Panty, slightly irritated. Rowdy had refused to tell her, any of them actually, what he was working on. It annoyed Panty, who was used to getting what she wanted, to no end. Rowdy just thought it was funny as hell to get her all worked up, those two couldn't fit better together if they had been made for each other.

While Panty sits grumbling on the couch Stocking turn to Brief.  
"And how is your project going?" She asked him. Brief frowned at thinking how he was progressing.

"Not that good actually." Brief sighed in frustration. Stocking noticed his mood worsening.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get it. After all you were a nerd before you became a ghost ass-kickin' badass." Brief chuckled at how true that actually was.

Rowdy came in the room to find all his friends sitting together. He was still wiping his hands from working on his secret project. He sat down and immediately Panty turn to him with narrowed eyes.

"Tell me" She demanded.

"No." Rowdy replied with a smirk. Panty gave a shout of frustration and kicked the dog. His smirk only grew wider.

"Rowdy?" He turn his head to see Stocking looking at him with big eyes, "Won't you tell me what you're working on…please?" she asked with big eyes.

"Ehm….no!" Rowdy laughed. Stocking huffed indignantly.

"Well when the hell are you going to tell us?!" Panty asked.

"When it's done, no sooner." They keep trying to get it out of him but he refused to tell.

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Garterbelt popped up from behind the couch. Stocking wasn't even surprised but Brief yelped, because some things never change.

"Ohayou Stocking, Ohayou Brief!" He thundered.

"Hi Garterbelt." Brief replied while Stocking just waited to see what he wanted.

"Stocking, a ghost has been spotted down-town wreaking havoc. Brief, since Panty isn't here and refuses to pick up the phone you will team up with Stocking." Brief nodded and he went on. "The ghost is terrorizing the shopping district. He's throwing shoes like they're bullets. Now go!"

This wasn't an uncommon occurrence. Ever since Brief had proved that he could handle himself in battle, Garterbelt had allowed Brief to pick up the slack when Panty wasn't there. Although if he hadn't, Brief would have gone anyway. They took See-Through After gathering their stuff and went in search of the Ghost.

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Stocking went left and ran to get in close. The ghost had what looked like a uniform on, like the people that worked in stored had on, but colored in black and orange. Across his chest hung a grenade belt, only instead grenades it was filled with shoes. It was laughing hysterically in a slightly crazy way while throwing shoes that impacted like mortar shells. Later he would be nick-named the 'Shoe Seller'.

As soon as they caught sight of Shoe Seller, the two rushed to him. Brief went right and opened fire to cover for Stocking. The gun was one of his last creations before he had lost half his powers. He was grateful every time that they fought ghosts that he could still use it. The gun drew power from the ghosts they fought themselves to make the bullets it fired extra powerful. He had altered it so it made the entire bullet instead of making them extra powerful. This meant that the gun was useless when there weren't any ghosts, but it was still better than nothing.

Brief had to dodge a steel-tipped combat boot flying towards him. Luckily Stocking had already gotten close to Shoe Seller. He placed the gun on his back where it clicked into its holder and drew his sword. It was a lot like the sword he had used in his fight against Rowdy. It was white with a glowing green edge, but was one-handed and only had one edge, plus it was a bit shorter than the long-sword.

He dodged the shoes and made his way to Shoe Seller. It was fighting Stocking with two pink high-heeled shoes. He backed up and threw the shoes at Stocking. She was too close to dodge and got pinned to the wall. Then Brief attacked Shoe Seller from above. He jumped away in time and they continued to fight.

Meanwhile, Stocking was trying to get the shoes of her that pinned her against the wall. She watched as Brief fought and couldn't help but compare it to when he fought Rowdy. He was a bit slower whereas before he reacted as if he already knew what was going to happen. She could also see that he was beginning to tire. 'Must be because he lost half his power,' Stocking thought. She finally got the hideous pink monstrosities off her and shot off to help Brief.

Brief was having a harder time then he thought he would be. Actually he was barely holding the Ghost off. He blocked a strike from the left and saw one coming from the right. He tried but could raise his sword in time to block. He moved and the razor-sharp shoe cut his cheek, narrowly missing his head. Stocking appeared and cut off the Shoe Seller's arm. He screamed and Stocking simple sliced him into a thousand pieced with her finishing move.

Brief sat down panting trying to catch his breath. Stocking went to him and frowned when she saw the cut on his cheek. 'That ghost was giving him a harder time than I thought. I didn't think losing his demon powers would make it that difficult for him.' She thought.

"Brief are you…"Stocking new that losing half his power was a touchy subject for Brief and she didn't want him to feel bad "Are you okay?" she finished.

"I'm fine Stocking." He reassured her and tried to give her a smile that came out more as a grimace. "Let's go home."

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While Stocking and Brief were fighting the ghost, Panty and Rowdy had gone into town. Rowdy needed part for…whatever he was building. He was really excited because it was nearly finished and he wanted to get the parts right away, after some quality time with Panty that is. Panty had with him because…well, because she was bored.

They headed into a shop that had the parts Rowdy needed. While Rowdy went straight to the counter to speak to asking for some parts, Panty looked around. The store was a bit odd and it had all sorts of things. From the handy and practical to the downright silly and odd, the store had it all. 'What kind of store sells rubber ducks, chainsaws and care tires?'

She skipped a section with old stuffy books and she ended up in the back of the store. Panty wasn't interested in inventing and making stuff like Brief and Rowdy were, but even she could imagine what kind of incredible things could be made with the items she saw there.

She was thinking how she could get Rowdy to build her a weapon from some of the things there when she heard some small noise behind her. Panty turned and at the same time drew her gun and aimed it chest high. Unfortunately for her this meant that she would have missed Thumbscrew by half a foot if she had tried to shoot him. She aimed it at his head at glared at him.

"What the fuck do you want? This better be good because after the last shit you pulled", she grinned evilly at him, "Well…nobody would care one bit if you just went…missing for some reason." Thumbnails grin didn't lessen one bit but he did seem more on guard.

"Oh but Panty, I'm merely a humble trader. Why would you ever think purposefully try to harm you or your family and friends, especially when we could do much profitable business." His grin widened after he said the word business. "In fact, I have a deal to offer. I have certain information that you will be finding in need of before long I expect. In return I ask very little."

Panty grew more impatient and annoyed with every word Thumbscrew spoke. She hated dealing with the slimy little creep. Despite never meeting him herself, she had heard things from Brief, Stocking and, Kneesocks. She knew not to make a deal with him. Panty wasn't necessarily stupid, just impulsive, reckless, rude and never really bothered to think before she talked or acted.

"Forget it ya nasty little shit! Now get outa my face before I give you a second asshole."

Now Thumbscrew had lost his smile.

"Be careful Panty, it would be unwise to make an enemy of me. I know many things and many creatures. Also I don't often make offers like this and the next time the price will be higher." Before Panty could retort Thumbscrew faded into the shadows and was gone.

A moment later Rowdy showed up.

"Hey Panty I'm done are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's get the hell out of here."

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After the fight, Brief went to his new lab. He was worried because he felt so weak during the battle. 'What good am I if I can't even fight?' In truth he was scared, scared of what they and especially Stocking would think of him if he lost all his powers. He arrived at the lab and went inside after unlocking it.

The new lab was even bigger than the last and was located under an abandoned factory. He would have just done his research and experiments at the church but some of the experiments had explosive results and this was a lot safer. Brief immediately went to work. He was losing power, too much power for having lost his demon abilities. He quickly found out that aside from his demon powers even his angel powers were weakening. After that he worked even harder. He would stop this and find a way to restore his power, he had to.

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Stocking had returned home after the fight with Shoe Seller. She was currently sprawled out on the couch reading one of her favorite magazines on deserts. The television was on a cooking channel providing background noise but otherwise the church was quiet.

Suddenly Stockings stomach rumbled. 'Huh? I just ate something I can't be hungry again can I?' She looked questioningly down at her stomach. Then she shrugged her shoulders and started eating some candy bars. Halfway through her third bar she slowed and then stopped. She dropped it and grabbed her stomach. Slowly she turns green and then rushes off to the bathroom.

Half an hour later she stood up shakily. After throwing up everything she had eaten since morning she had lain there unable to get up. She stumbled over to the sink and clutched it for balance. Softly muttering about traitorous candy Stocking looked in the mirror. Letting out a small 'ugh' of disgust she looked at her pale and sweaty face. She turned on the tap and splashed her face with water. She still felt strange and if she had looked in the mirror again, she would have seen herself glow white as if illuminated from within.

There was a cracking noise and small crack began to appear where Stocking was clutching the sink. Suddenly her hands shattered the sink and it broke of . Stocking, who had lost the support the sink provided her, fell to the floor screaming obscenities. She quickly stood up and turned the tap back of with haste. It turned to far and it broke off. 'What the hell is with this bathroom?' Stocking thought.

Her stomach-ache had disappeared as fast as it had come. She gives the bathroom one more look and then starts walking back to the couch. Stocking still wasn't sure what had happened but she eventually dismissed it as coincidence.

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Panty and Brief walked into the living room of the church and found Stocking on the ground reaching under the couch. Apparently she was searching for the remote because chuck had switched the channel.

"So where have you been?" Stocking asks one eyebrow raised after she found the remote and switched the channel to one about cakes.

"We were shopping. Well… Rowdy was shopping. I just needed to get the fuck out of the house." Stocking looked questioningly at Rowdy.

"I needed a few more parts to finish it." He replied to her unasked question.

"And you're still not going to tell us what it is are you?" Stocking groaned.

"Nope!" Rowdy said, grinning like a madman. He took his parts and disappeared into the garage.

Panty was now lounging on the couch with one leg draped over the armrest. She looked at one of Stocking's sweets with disgust and threw it in a random direction. From somewhere she pulled a bag of extra spicy peppers and started eating.

"By the way I ran into that little creep you told me about. What was name again…? Dumbnail, Fingerscew?"

"Thumbscrew?" Stocking guessed.

"Yeah him."

"What did he want?"

"To make somekinda deal. I told him to stick it where the sun don't shine." Stocking frowned. 'That's not good. If Thumbscrew is planning something that means bad things for us most likely.'

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It was late into the night when Brief finally saw results from his long testing and researching. The results were disturbing and the ominous feeling within him increased as he read. Luckily he could still use most of the weapons he had made before. Some like the suit that enhanced his strength and speed needed constant powering and couldn't he used. Others like the Vortex Grenade held a charge and didn't rely on Brief to power them before throwing. Unfortunately he couldn't make new ones.

That is also where the good news stops. His demon powers were all but gone and his angel powers were getting weaker. They were actually fading increasingly and would be without any powers soon. The worst was that it didn't stop there. He found out his own strength was getting weaker too. It all came down to one thing.

Brief was dying.

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Name: Shoe Seller

Race: Ghost

Gender: Male

Type: Humanoid

Appearance: Has a store uniform on but in black and orange colors, he also has a grenade belt running across his chest filled with shoes.

Ability: Throws shoes like cannonballs, has 2 high heeled shoes with sharpened heels for close combat.

Death: He was a shoe seller that was run over by a stampede of hysteric women during a sale.

Danger Level: 6

Heaven Coins: 2

Weakness: Weak in close combat and has no armor of any kind.

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**Authors Note Mark 2!:** So I hope you like where this is going. This story begins a few months after the events of Heartcandy and things had calmed down a bit, until now of course. We're already noticing that what happened before had far more consequences then everyone thought and it won't end here.

Now as you have seen I'm doing the character profiles again. I like them and it lets me share some things that are difficult to put in the story.

One of the things I added to it is the 'Danger Level' category. Someone's 'Danger Level' indicated how powerful he is. It also effects the reward for defeating him. For ghosts there are 20 levels. For demons as well as angels there are 10 (one level for them equals 2 for the ghosts). I will (re)post character profiles for all the characters that are already known.

Second is the 'Type' category. They effect what powers they have, their appearance and how high the reward for defeating them is. There are as of now 5 different 'types' but I'm not telling what they are yet. (I'm evil like that.)

Lastly the 'Weakness' category. That one will only show after the enemy or ally (and everything in between) is defeated.

Unfortunately updates for this will be quite a bit slower than for Heartcandy. I'm in the middle of my internship and don't have as much time to write as before. Having said that updates will continue to come however long it may take unless I tell otherwise.

Please leave a review or a comment. Whether you liked it or not opinions are always welcome.

Until next chapter, Desmond5tiny


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